Angry in the Great White North

I doubt the NDP could ever stop Irene Mathyssen

The NDP was deeply embarrassed when MP Irene Mathyssen stood up in the House of Commons to accuse Conservative MP James Moore of looking at pornography on his laptop, only to have her offer an abject and unqualified apology.  Similarly, the NDP accused Liberal candidate David Oliver of offering a bribe to an NDP candidate during the 2006 election, and was forced to offer up another abject apology.

Now the NDP says they have a plan to prevent this sort of thing from happening again.  I really doubt the NDP can do much though.  It strikes at the heart of what it means to be a liberal.

Jack Layton is in charge of the NDP

Jack Layton is in charge of the NDP.

You notice that I didn't say he is in charge only when he's in the room, or within earshot, or when he's had a good two hours notice of what is about to happen.

When pressed about the Irene Mathyssen case, Jack Layton is quick to mention that he had nothing to do with it.

And here I thought that as leader, Jack Layton is always responsible for what his caucus members say and do.

It's not fair, but then being leader sucks sometimes.

A video for Irene Mathyssen

One last post on the Irene Mathyssen issue. NDP MP Irene Mathyssen claimed that Conservative MP James Moore was looking at pornography. Though she was wrong and reluctantly offered an apology of questionable sincerity, there is no doubt that the NDP is dedicated to protecting women from being "objectified" by men.

Well, protecting some women from some men. Really, just those women who as a whole have enough political and economic clout to protect themselves from just those men who as a whole are no threat at all.

Women with no protection threatened by men who literally see them as objects, well, they're someone else's problem.

Was Irene Mathyssen taken to the woodshed?

Irene Mathyssen was told in no uncertain terms that she had to apologize and without any conditions or qualifications. That was not her plan. Indeed, after the NDP MP accused Conservative MP James Moore of looking at pornography in the House of Commons, an accusation that was quickly shown to be baseless, Mathyssen made it clear she intended to get an apology from Moore!

At least one reporter is saying that the NDP decided this was too absurd, even for them.

Irene Mathyssen is the victim and she deserves an apology (according to Irene Mathyssen)

We're often too simplistic in our allocation of blame. Most of us think that when one person wrongs another, the first person should be doing the apologizing.

That might work with children and mature adults, but for people invested in a culture of victimization, they are always owed an apology, even when they made the mistake.

You see, professional full-time victims are never totally at fault for anything they do.

Consider the story of James Moore. Conservative MP James Moore is showing pictures of an outing at the beach, and in the frame of a picture of his dog is his girlfriend in a bikini. NDP MP Irene Mathyssen sees the picture from afar, jumps to the conclusion that Moore was looking at pornography, and publicly accuses Moore both on the floor of the House of Commons and to the press. Moore denies the allegations, and the truth comes out.

Irene Mathyssen, therefore, demands an apology from James Moore.

See, you thought Mathyssen was going to do the all the apologizing, didn't you? But Irene Mathyssen is the NDP critic for the Status of Women. As we all know, women are victimized by men who are looking at pornography. Mathyssen is demanding that Moore apologize to her for that.

Irene Mathyssen and the objectification of men

NDP MP Irene Mathyssen has deeply wounded and humiliated Conservative MP James Moore, publicly accusing him of leering at soft porn while he was seated in the House of Commons.

Turns out she was wrong.

She has since apologized. I don't think that's enough. Not by a long shot.